Foldable baby&#39;s chair

ABSTRACT

A folding baby&#39;s chair is provided comprising a series of substantially rigid panels interconnected by hinges between adjacent panels. The series of panels includes at least a seat panel, a backrest panel and side panels. Selected panels are provided at free edges thereof with attachment flaps having releasable fasteners cooperating with releasable fasteners provided on cooperating portions of cooperant panels such that the folding seat is held in an erected condition by virtue of inter-engagement the fasteners. Preferably the fasteners are of the hook and loop type and the flaps are formed as additional panels adapted to be at least partially, and optionally fully, superimposed over another panel to which each is releasably attached in the erected condition.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a folding baby's chair and, more particularly,to a folding baby's chair that is simple and inexpensive to fabricate;easy to erect and collapse as and when required, and that can beprovided with a variety of different safety and utility features.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Numerous different forms of folding baby's chairs have been proposed andare available on the market. Most of these, as far as applicant isaware, assume the form of a folding frame having fabric panels (that aregenerally cushioned) filling in spaces defined by the frame. Such aconstruction is generally relatively complicated; consequently costly;not always simple to erect and collapse as and when required; sometimesawkwardly shaped for transport and storage purposes in the collapsecondition; and often have protruding formations that can be potentiallyharmful if appropriate care is not exercised.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide a foldingbaby's chair that may be designed to be extremely simple and inexpensiveto manufacture and that can be easily and swiftly erected and collapsedas and when required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention there is provided a folding baby'schair comprising a series of substantially rigid panels optionallycovered with a suitable flexible woven or non-woven sheet material andinterconnected by means of hinges between adjacent panels, the series ofpanels comprising at least a seat panel, a backrest panel and sidepanels, the folding baby's chair being characterized in that selectedpanels are provided at free edges thereof with attachment flaps havingreleasable fasteners cooperating with releasable fasteners provided oncooperating portions of cooperant panels such that the folding chair isheld in an erected condition by virtue of inter-engagement of saidfasteners.

Further features of the invention provide for the fasteners to be of thehook and loop type such as that sold under the trade name “VELCRO”; forthe flaps to be formed as additional panels adapted to be at leastpartially, and optionally fully, superimposed over the panel to whicheach is releasably attached; for the side panels to have a rear sectionextending up the height of the rear panel and a forward section ofconsiderably lower height; for each of the side panels or superimposedconnecting flaps to have a part of a support panel hingedly attached tothe upper edge of the forward section thereof with the two supportpanels being adapted to overlap in which condition fastenersconveniently of the hook and loop type releasably secure them together;and for a separate rigid table panel to be provided for releasablecooperation with the support panels.

Still further features of the invention provide for the entire series ofpanels to consist of inner panels sandwiched between layers of paddingand two outer layers of said sheet material; for the sheet materialcovering the opposite sides of the panels to be secured together alonglines between the panels to define said hinges; for harness straps to beprovided for restraining an infant within the baby's chair; and forattachment straps to be provided for releasably securing the baby'schair to a support therefor, typically a free standing chair.

In order that the above and other features of the invention may becomemore apparent, one embodiment thereof will now be described withreference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:—

FIG. 1 is a plan view of one embodiment of baby's chair according to theinvention in an opened out condition;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the baby's chair in a partly erectedcondition;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of the baby's chair in a fullyerected condition with the table panel in a stored position; and,

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the baby's chair in an erected conditionand showing the table panel in its operative position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

In this embodiment of the invention the baby's chair, generallyindicated by numeral (1), is formed from a series of inner panels thatare made of substantially rigid sheet material covered with a layer ofpadding material on both sides, and on the outside with an outer sheetof, in this case, waterproof plastics material. The inner panels can bemade of any suitably strong and rigid material and may, for example, bemade of a suitable thickness of composition board (commonly availableunder the trade name MASONITE). The sheets of plastics material can beappropriately decorated with pictures or other graphics that would beappealing to children.

As a general structural feature that will become more apparent from thefollowing, the two outer sheets of material are secured together betweenthe edges of adjacent inner panels to form hinges by virtue of theflexible nature of the plastic sheet material and the padding material.In many cases the two sheets of plastic are of thermoplastic materialand can simply be thermally welded together with the padding materialsimilarly becoming welded to the outer sheets along one or more lines toform hinges between the various panels.

More particularly, the baby's chair comprises a seat panel (2) to therear edge of which is attached the operatively lower edge of a backrestpanel (3) by way of a hinge formation (created as described above)indicated by numeral (4). A side panel (5) is attached to eachoperatively generally vertical edge of the backrest panel (3) by way ofa hinge formation indicated by numeral (6). Each side panel has a rearportion extending up the full height of the backrest panel and a forwardportion, indicated by numeral (7), of substantially lower height so asto correspond with the height of a table panel that will be describedbelow.

Simply for the sake of illustration, an inner panel (8) forming theinside of the seat panel is shown in FIG. 1 as having a layer (9) ofpadding of thermoplastic fibrous material that is in turn covered by theouter sheet (10).

Each side of the seat panel has attached thereto by way of a hingeformation (11), a connecting flap (12) that in this case issubstantially a duplicate of the side panel (5) and is adapted to besuperimposed over the side panel in the erected condition. The sidepanels (5) and connecting flaps (12) are provided with co-operating pads(13) of hook and loop fastener material so that they can be releasablyfastened together in this superimposed relationship. Conveniently, a padof fastener material is provided towards the operatively upper end ofeach side wall and towards the front of each side wall.

Each of the connecting flaps has hingedly attached thereto, in the samemanner, by way of a hinge formation (14), a support panel (15) whereinthe two support panels are adapted to overlap in the operative positionand be secured in this position also by means of a hook and loopfastener arrangement indicated by numeral (16). The height of thesupport panel thus corresponds to the upper edge of the forward lowerportions (7) of the side panels.

A rigid table panel (17), preferably of plastics material, is providedfor removable association with the support panels, as illustrated inFIG. 4. The rigid table panel has one longitudinal edge doubled over toa U-shaped configuration so that it can be hooked over the edges of thesupport panels to keep it in position. A pocket could be provided at therear of the backrest panel to accommodate the table panel when it is notin use as shown in FIG. 3.

Finally, the baby's chair is provided with a full harness strap assemblyindicated by numeral (18) for restraining an infant within the erectedbaby's chair. Also, the underneath of the seat panel is provided with apair of attachment straps (19) whereby the seat panel can be temporarilystrapped to a support for the baby's chair such as a conventional freestanding chair (not shown). Still further, in order to locate the baby'schair on a smooth surface such as that of a table top, the underside ofthe seat panel can also be provided with suction cups (not shown).

It will be understood that the baby's chair described above will beextremely simple to erect as and when required. All that is required isa simple folding operation of the assembly about the hinge formationsand engagement of the co-operating fasteners which, in the case of hookand loop fasteners, simply requires that they be urged into engagementwith each other. Similarly, collapsing only requires the fasteners to bedisengaged and the panels to be folded as may be required.

The baby's chair has a number of additional features and uses and, inparticular, in the opened out position illustrated in FIG. 1, theassembly of panels can be used as a play mat for an infant; as a surfaceon which to sleep; and as a comfortable surface for the purpose ofchanging an infant's nappy, for example.

For transport and storage purposes the panels can be folded so that theyare superimposed on each other and thus form a neat square assembly thatcan be fitted into a flexible or rigid carry bag or other container.

Numerous variations may be made to the embodiment of the inventiondescribed above without departing from the scope hereof. In particular,it is not necessary that the connecting flaps be made to a full-size ofthe panel with which they are to cooperate and a narrow connecting flap,for example having hook and loop fasteners extending along the entirelength thereof, may be entirely adequate. Also, the type of sheetmaterial used for the inner panels, outer sheets and padding may bevaried widely and the baby's chair may be provided with numerous otheradded features. The fasteners too may be of a different type, forexample suitable press studs.

1. A collapsible chair comprising: a seat panel, a back panel hinged tothe seat panel, at least one pair of opposed side panels hingedlyconnected to one of the seat panel and the back panel, the chair beingcapable of being erected with the seat panel and back panel at rightangles to one another and with the side panels at right angles to boththe seat and back panels, the chair further comprising main connectorsreleasably connecting the side panels relative to the other of the seatpanel and back panel when the chair is erected, and at least one flap,which is narrower than the seat panel, and which is hingedly connectedto at least one of the side panels and which is arranged to be locatedover a portion of the seat panel remote from the back panel in theerected chair, and additional connectors on the flap for affixing theflap relative to the other side panel of the erected chair.
 2. A chairas claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one flap further comprises afirst and second flap each connected to opposed side panels on oppositesides of the erected chair, the first flap being connected to the sidepanel via the second flap.
 3. A chair as claimed in claim 1, having apair of second side panels hingedly connected to the other of the seatand back panels, wherein the main connectors including cooperatingmembers on the first and second side panels which are adjacent to eachother.
 4. A chair as claimed in claim 1, where the connectors are hookand loop connectors.
 5. A chair as claimed in claim 1, comprising aseparate table portion, which engages the flaps when the chair iserected.
 6. A chair as claimed in claim 5, wherein the table portion hasa reentrant groove on its underside in which the flap is received.
 7. Achair as claimed in claim 1, in which the series of seat panel, the backpanel, and the side panels each consists of an inner panel member, alayer of padding on either side, and an outer layer of sheet material.8. A chair as claimed in claim 1, in which the sheet material coveringthe panels is secured along lines between the panels to define saidhinges.
 9. A chair as claimed in claim 1, in having harness strapssecured respectively to the seat and back panels, the straps releasablyengaging one another for restraining an infant within the chair.
 10. Achair as claimed in claim 1, having an attachment means secured to atleast one panel, the attachment means enabled to releasably secure thechair to an appropriate support structure.
 11. A collapsible chaircomprising: a rectangular seat panel having a pair of side edges and apair of end edges, a rectangular back rest panel having a pair of sideedges and a pair of end edges, one of the end edges of which is hingedlyconnected to an end edge of the seat panel, a pair of generally“L”shaped first side panels each having a base hingedly connected to theside edges of the back rest panel and a leg extending from the back restpanel at its part closest to the seat panel, the leg projecting awayfrom the side edges of the back rest panel, a pair of second side panelshingedly connected to the side edges of the seat panel each said secondside panel having: a web part hinged to the seat panel and being as deepas the said leg and an inner arm located close to the first side panelclosest thereto, and a pair of flaps which are less wide than the seatpanel and which are respectively hinged to either of the first andsecond side panels, the chair being capable of being erected with theseat panel and the back rest panel approximately at right angles to oneanother, with the first side panels parallel and approximately at rightangles to the back rest panel and overlying the seat panel, and thesecond side panels lying approximately at right angles to the seat paneland side by side with the first side panels and the flaps lying over theother of the side panels parallel to the seat part; the chair furthercomprising connector means operative in the erected chair, the connectormeans comprising: first connectors connecting arms of the second sidepanels to the adjacent first side panels, second connectors connectingthe legs to the second side panels, and third connectors connecting endsof the flaps.
 12. A collapsible chair as claimed in claim 11, whereinthe flaps extend from the web part of the second side panels.
 13. Achair as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a table part having amain section, a dependant outer wall and a rim extending from the lowerend of the wall below the main section, the rim forming with the mainsection a groove, wherein flaps of the chair are received within thesaid groove when the chair is erected.
 14. A chair as claimed in claim11, wherein the connectors comprise cooperating hook and loopconnectors.